Opinion Page

College admissions scandal a mirror of the March madness that befalls a lot of parents

WASHINGTON — Please, let’s stop pretending that the college cheating scandal is just an indictment of overindulgent, wealthy helicopter parents. The Justice Department has accused dozens of super-rich parents of making $25 million in illegal payments &#

The court should steer away from the politics of gerrymandering

WASHINGTON — If an adjective creates a redundancy, does preceding it with two other adjectives give the Supreme Court a reason to venture where it has never gone before? Come Tuesday, the court will hear oral arguments urging it to referee gerrymandering in t

Why the feds should protect Midwest wolves from slaughter

The bald eagle is America’s symbol, but 70 years ago it was nearly extinct. Once numbering as many as half a million, the population in the lower 48 states had been reduced to fewer than 1,000 by pesticides, hunting and destruction of habitat. Under the Endan

A frank column on education, subsidies and pay

Job quality, especially with respect to wages and benefits, will be a central part of the next national election. With job creation strong but wage growth lagging, we should expect tough questions about a variety of labor market policies. This will be especially tr

Too rich to run in 2020

Donald Trump has given success a bad name. That is, the president’s much-boasted-about wealth has soured many Americans’ taste for even the Horatio Alger bootstrapping stories. These days, as income inequality has become a leitmotif of Democratic politi

Trump has some suggestions to help student loan debt, for better and worse

Crooked admissions schemes aren’t the only problem plaguing colleges and their students these days. The cost of a degree from a private college continues to rise, moving well beyond what most families can dream of paying, even with financial aid. Most college

This romp of a novel will have you pining for the days of George W. Bush

Nostalgia is what Thomas Mallon is counting on to help draw readers to his new novel, “Landfall,” which takes them on a long stroll down memory lane, back to the golden days of ... President George W. Bush’s second term. Really. So, if Mallon̵

The losers running for the Democratic nomination

Look at the losers running, or considering a run, for the Democratic presidential nomination. I don’t mean that pejoratively. I mean it literally. Beto O’Rourke’s presidential candidacy is the ultimate expression of the participation trophy cultur

Valpo girl's championship pose has Birch Bayh written all over it

A young Valparaiso girl’s smiling face and victory pose have a rich Hoosier legacy written all over them. The individual story of Rianne Murphy, 13, is compelling in its own right. The seventh-grader at St. Paul Catholic School in Valparaiso pinned down two s

Yes, Trump is target of 'PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT'

President Trump often complains that he is the victim of “presidential harassment” – or, as he sometimes puts it, “PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT!” “After more than two years of Presidential Harassment, the only things that have been pr

Protecting school bus riders

In response to the terrible accident in Fulton County last year that claimed the lives of three schoolchildren, lawmakers are proposing a new measure to help keep school bus riders. It is simply unacceptable for motorists to put Hoosier kids in danger, and legislat

The attack that broke the net's safety net

As authorities rushed to stop a gunman on a mass killing spree in New Zealand, engineers, programmers and content moderators around the globe were scrambling to keep the rampage from going viral. It didn’t work. The terrorist in Christchurch killed 50 people

In opposing impeachment, Pelosi is trying to protect Democrats from the lunatic left

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s, D-Calif., announcement that she is “not for impeachment” has caused resistance on the left. Pelosi is not trying to protect President Trump. She is trying to protect the Democratic Party from its lunatic fringe. It

Hasta luego, Beto

It must be a grown-up thing, but every time I see Beto O’Rourke, I want to fix him a hamburger. He’s precious.  And, if my eyes serve me, he’s hungry.  Call it maternal instinct; call it age. But, let’s call the Texas Democrat̵

The fading blackface scandal

When the stories broke six weeks ago about Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam wearing blackface in the 1980s, it was pretty clear how the controversy would end: with Northam deferring to outrage and resigning. A host of presidential candidates called for their fellow Demo